Method and apparatus for concealing character modifications made for text composition purposes

Abstract

Disclosed is a text justification program (20) that runs on a computer (22) in accordance with the invention. The text justification program provides an improved method for justifying text by introducing random character modifications throughout the text so that characters modified for justification purposes do not stand out.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method of composing a line of text to improve the appearance of a page of text in which the line of text occurs, comprising: storing in a computer memory a line of text having characters and an original shape and width associated with each character;   applying a preprogrammed strategy to select some, but not all, of the characters in the stored line of text for modification, according to a pattern that makes the selections appear random;   adjusting the width associated with each selected character in the stored line of text by modifying the shape of the selected character; and   composing the stored line of text using the adjusted width for each selected character and the original width for each remaining character in the stored line of text.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: storing in the computer memory a target length for the line of text;   determining a length of the line of text;   determining the difference between the length of the line of text and the target length;   wherein in the step of adjusting character widths, widths are chosen for the selected characters to decrease the difference between the length and the target length.   
     
     
       3. The method of step 2 further comprising: decreasing the difference between the length and the target length by one or more steps selected from the group consisting of i) adjusting the number of words on the line, ii) adjusting word spaces on the line, iii) adjusting character spaces on the line, and iv) adjusting the shape and width of every character.   
     
     
       4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: increasing the width of some of the selected characters in the line of text while decreasing the width of others of the selected characters in the line of text so as to substantially maintain the length of the line of text.   
     
     
       5. The method of claim 1 wherein the computer-generated pattern is random. 
     
     
       6. The method of claim 1 wherein the computer-generated pattern is based on criteria to make the selections appear visually random. 
     
     
       7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: producing the line of text on an output device.   
     
     
       8. The method of claim 1 wherein the heights of the selected characters are not adjusted. 
     
     
       9. A computer-implemented method of composing a line of text to improve the appearance of a page of text in which the line of text occurs, comprising: storing in a computer memory a line of text having characters, an original shape and width associated with each character, and a target length;   determining the difference between the length of the line of text and the target length;   applying a preprogrammed strategy to select some, but not all, of the characters in the stored line of text for modification, according to a pattern that makes the selections appear random;   adjusting the width associated with each selected character by modifying its shape to decrease the difference between the length and the target length; and   composing the line of text using the adjusted width for each selected character and the original width for each remaining character in the stored line of text.   
     
     
       10. A computer-implemented method of composing a paragraph of text to improve the appearance of a page of text in which the paragraph of text occurs, comprising: storing in the computer memory a paragraph of text having a plurality of lines of text, each line of text having characters, an original shape and width associated with each character, and a target length;   determining a length of a first line of text;   determining the difference between the length and the target length of the first line of text;   adjusting the width of every character in the first line of text to decrease the difference between the length and the target length of the first line of text;   determining a length of a second line of text;   applying a preprogrammed strategy to select some, but not all, of the characters in a second, different line of text for modification, according to a pattern that makes the selections appear random;   increasing the width of at least one of the selected characters while decreasing the widths of at least one other of the selected characters in the second line of text by modifying the shapes of the selected characters so as to substantially maintain the length of the second line of text; and   composing the paragraph of text using the adjusted widths for the characters on the first line of text and the increased and decreased widths for the selected characters and the original widths for the remaining characters in the second line of text in the stored paragraph.   
     
     
       11. A computer program, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising instructions for causing a computer to: store in a computer memory a line of text having characters and an original shape and width associated with each character;   apply a preprogrammed strategy to select some, but not all, of the characters in the stored line of text for modification, according to a pattern that makes the selections appear random;   adjust the widths associated with the selected characters in the stored line of text by modifying the shapes of the selected characters; and   compose the stored line of text using the modified shapes and adjusted widths for the selected characters and the original shapes and widths for the remaining characters in the stored line of text so as to improve the appearance of a page of text in which the line of text occurs.